The lack of Moroccan watermelons offers an opportunity for Mauritania and Senegal

Published 2024년 6월 28일

Tridge summary

The article explores the potential of Mauritanian and Senegalese watermelon producers to fill the market gap left by the suspension of the Moroccan watermelon campaign due to quality issues and cold weather. Mauritanian producer Amine Amanatoullah doubts his country's capability to benefit, citing issues with viruses, aphids, and non-competitive prices. Senegalese producer Mehdaoui Elmokhtar believes Senegal's ability to export depends on improving watermelon quality to European standards and overcoming high logistics costs. Despite these challenges, both countries are open to exploring export opportunities, with Senegal's year-round watermelon cultivation and Mauritania potentially relying on regions like Gharb for later production.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

While the Moroccan watermelon campaign is on hold, some wonder whether producers in Mauritania and Senegal could fill the void left in the European market. However, this hypothesis seems more complex than it seems, according to industry players. Amine Amanatoullah, a Mauritanian producer, is skeptical about his country's ability to take advantage of this situation. “It’s not automatic, and it’s not even possible this season,” he tells Freshplaza. The Mauritanian campaign, usually finished in April, ended prematurely this year due to quality problems. Customer complaints precipitated the end of the campaign, and reduced yields due to colder than usual weather made the situation worse. “I don’t think that the Mauritanian origin can benefit from the void left by Morocco,” explains Amanatoullah. He adds that problems with viruses, aphids and bad weather are widespread in West Africa and that prices are not competitive with those in Greece, Italy and Spain. For his part, Mehdaoui ...

Source: Agrimaroc